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Tax Breaks Available to Homeowners who Itemize

Excited entrepreneur girl reading a letter

Thinking of buying a home? Check out these 6 tax benefits that become yours, when you become a homeowner.

  1. Mortgage Interest: Interest paid throughout the year is deductible on your taxes for mortgages up to $1 million for a loan issued prior to Dec. 14, 2017, and up to $750,000 for any loans issued after that date.
  2. Home Equity Line of Credit Interest: If you borrow against the equity in your home, and the money borrowed goes toward the home itself, the interest can be deducted. The deduction is subject to the same $750,000 limit for total mortgage debt.
  3. State and Local Property Taxes: Homeowners can deduct up to $10,000 of their combined state and local income, sales and property taxes.
  4. Rental Income: Homeowners who rent out their properties are able to deduct the cost of repairs and improvements made to that rental space. The same goes for commercial or residential investment properties.
  5. Home Office Expenses: If you work exclusively from home, you may be able to deduct costs for the space on your itemized tax return. Deductions are limited to self-employed workers.
  6. Capital Gains from a Home Sale: The capital gains exclusion rule allows home sellers to keep the profit from a home sale without paying taxes on it. If you’ve lived in the property as your primary residence two years in the last five years, you can make $250,000 profit as a single person, tax-free, or $500,000 as a married couple.

Like Suze Orman famously said; “Owning a home is the keystone of wealth.” If you’re looking to start accumulating real wealth by buying a home, reach out to me at info@therespectedrealtor.com. I’d love to help you personally or connect you with someone sharp in your area.

Source: US News

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10 Productive and Pleasant Rainy-Day Activities

Make the most of your rainy-day with these 10 gratifying activities.

#1: Create a Vision Board using images and words cut out of old or unused magazines.

#2: Pick a topic you know more about than others, write about it, and publish it on the internet.

#3: Try a healthy new slow-cooker recipe and make enough for plenty of leftovers.

#4: Order presents for upcoming loved ones’ and/or clients’ birthdays, anniversaries, etc. and have them mailed to your home until the date approaches. Then, wrap the present yourself before mailing.

#5: Make your list of vacations for the year and start booking the travel.

#6: Download and organize your musical playlists for a) working out, b) road trips, and c) winding down.

#7: Clean out your refrigerator and pantry of old or expired foods and liquids. Organize what’s left by category.

#8: Go through closet and make a pile for donations or resale. Go one more step and take photos of items with value and post to Ebay, RealReel, etc.

#9: Skype or FaceTime family members.

#10: Download a crossword, sudoku, podcast, or new eBook and get cracking!

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Best Augmented Reality App for Virtual Home Decor and Staging

Digitally decorated rooms in seconds from your mobile phone, and you can shop the app directly. CURATE by Sotheby’s International Realty.

Not everyone was gifted with an eye for interior design. The good news is, Curate by Sotheby’s International Realty® has solved that problem. 

Curate by Sotheby’s International Realty® is the best augmented reality app for decorating an empty room. It’s free, easy to operate, and quick! Plus, if you like what you see, you can purchase directly through the app. 

Once the app is downloaded, you don’t need internet. All you need is an empty room and your smart device.

How it Works

First step: Select decor type and room type. Options range from tradition to modern and include rooms designed by real-life industry experts from Elle Decor, Town & Country, and Veranda.

Second step: Find the floor. Angle the phone’s camera at the floor until the floor becomes illuminated in green. This sets the aspect ratio to ensure furniture and decor are scaled proportionally.

Third step: Situate the room. Angle your phone up and using your fingers, pinch, swipe or spread the screen to properly affix the decorated space. Save a snapshot of the finished room down to your device for future reference.

My Favorite Part

You can shop different styles of décor for the same space and when you settle on one you like, you can simply click on the different elements and purchase straight from the app. 

Home Staging

As a Real Estate Agent, I find this app critical when working with clients on homes that have not been staged. A recent example of this happened with a small third bedroom. Client wanted to ensure he could fit a full or queen-sized bed, side table and dresser and within 30 seconds, we were able to know for sure on the spot.

This app is another reason to choose an agent with Sotheby’s International Realty®. If you’d like to learn more pro tips for selling your home, contact me at amanda.youngblood@pacificsir.com or message me on Facebook.

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Curate by Sotheby’s International Realty® is an immersive Augmented Reality experience.

Curate by Sotheby’s International Realty allows consumers to visualize a house as their own before purchase, thereby curating the homebuying experience. Sotheby’s International Realty® brand is the first real estate brand to launch and implement a virtual staging AR app, transforming the homebuying and selling experience for sales associates and consumers. Once a new home is purchased, Curate can be used to help a new homeowner, through augmented reality, design and purchase furnishings for their new home.

Visit Curate by Sotheby’s International Realty to learn more and download the mobile app to your device.

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The Newest Trend in Home Design: The Indoor Outdoor Living Room

Embrace the outdoors in the comfort of your living room.

A sure way to wow guests is with a great room that opens, from floor to ceiling, to the outside. This can be interpreted many ways, as seen in the photos above. A fast growing trend, is to have sliding glass panels that slide into the wall, completely opening up the indoor living room to the patio, as though it were one continuous space.

In Southern California, why wouldn’t you take advantage of the great weather and added square footage gained from an indoor outdoor living room? Just think of all the guests you could entertain! Not to mention, this will likely increase the resale value of your home.

A great company to check out is Cover Glass USA. They have a showroom in Costa Mesa. Cover Glass USA specializes in frameless sliding glass walls and are known for their sleek designs.

Decorating tip: maintain similar decor elements both inside and outside so when the walls slide away, the two spaces feel like one.

Time to love the home you have, even more!

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The Role of a Real Estate Agent

Selling your home? Here’s what a real estate agent provides.

What is the costliest decision you’ll ever make? 

For most, it’s buying a home. You see a doctor for your health, you consult an attorney if you’re in trouble. If you don’t, you could wind up with a shortened life or behind bars. If you go into the purchasing or selling of a home without a professional, you’re bound to make costly mistakes that could impact you financially for the rest of your life.

What is a real estate agent? What is a REALTOR®?

A real estate agent, working on behalf of a licensed real estate broker, is a licensed professional who works on behalf of the buyer and seller of real estate during a sales transaction.

In other words, a real estate agent is a middleman; an intermediary in a transaction or process chain. A middleman will facilitate interaction between parties, typically for a commission or fee. 

A real estate agent becomes a REALTOR® when and only when he becomes a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

What’s the average real estate agent’s service (when selling your home)?

  • Enter the listing on MLS.
  • Take professional photos of the property.
  • Conduct open houses on the weekends.
  • Include the listing in the local newspaper.
  • Feature the listing on their website.
  • Receive and present offers from interested buyers.
  • Schedule inspections during escrow.

What’s the average real estate agent’s commission? 

When listing the home, it’s between 5-6% of the final selling price. That is, if a buyer brings an offer unrepresented. If the buyer is working with another agent, the commission splits 50/50 amongst the two agents.

What should an agent provide in addition to the basic services above, to earn a fair commission?

  • Devise and fund a moving marketing plan that generates the highest exposure possible in targeted markets. 
  • Provide pricing strategy options based on in-depth analysis of comparable homes in the area and economic market forecasts.
  • Provide consultation on home improvements and effectively stage the home to maximize home’s salability.
  • Negotiate all parts of the deal on your behalf.
  • Leverage relationships with lenders, escrow officers, title and home warranty reps to ensure great service and competitive pricing during the Escrow period.

What’s a good agent worth to you?

If you put a dollar amount on each service item, what would it amount to? Now consider what it would cost you if you were to try to do everything yourself. Add it up to determine what you’re willing to pay an agent for their services.

Don’t be misled. Sure, there are bad agents out there. But there are great ones too. 1) Make sure your agent is a licensed REALTOR®. 2) Be smart and do your homework. Interview several agents and get them to itemize on paper what they provide. 3) Don’t be afraid to tell the agent what you’re looking to spend and negotiate more or less based on your needs.

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For more information on the process, contact me at amanda.youngblood@pacificsir.com.

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What to Know Before You Shop for Homes

A quick guide to shopping for homes in Southern California.

For many, a home purchase is the biggest decision one makes. In today’s market, it’s critical you do your homework so you don’t make unnecessary and costly mistakes. Your home buying journey begins up to 1 year, for some even more, in advance of purchasing. Here’s what we recommend:

6 months – 1 year in advance: get your affairs in order. 1) Know your credit and 2) come up with a plan for your down payment. If you have a neighborhood in mind, find out the average prices. To be competitive, it’s recommended you put 10% or more towards a down payment.

1-3 months in advance: decide on what’s important and select an agent. It’s important to write down 5 things that are most important to you, i.e. good schools, nice view, short commute, large square footage, investment potential, etc. Your new home should meet at least 3 of the criteria. As for an agent, he/she will become your most trusted advisor throughout the process. Select carefully and start working with him/her now.

2-3 weeks in advance: obtain a loan pre qualification letter from a lender. The most popular options are to either choose a private local lender or to choose a large bank, i.e. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch or Wells Fargo. A private lender may be able to close much quicker and will likely require less documentation up front; however, their rates are often on the higher side. Large banks typically take longer to approve and close because they require a large amount of verification paperwork. One advantage to using a large bank however, is their rates are usually more competitive.

IMPORTANT: You do NOT want to look at any homes without obtaining a pre qualification letter first!

Sellers, especially in Southern California, will only entertain offers that come from pre qualified buyers.

Now it’s time to shop!